what the water gave us
by applecoral
Summary: Truth or dare with Ben leads to some interesting results.


Rey sits on the outdoor bench, reveling in the calmness of the outdoors. The cool breeze of a summer night washes over her. It's a welcome change from the burning temperatures of the day. She looks over to the pool where the lights illuminate the water, casting a bright glow across the backyard. She would take a dip, but she's not in the mood to risk anyone from the party walking out and see her swimming around in her underwear. The cold beer she drinks is hardly enough to get her to do that.

Muffled cheers come from inside the house. If she listens carefully, she can hear Poe's name being chanted.

Poe Dameron. One of her best friends, an almost older brother figure, and the host of the party she was at. She met him and Finn, her other best friend, when she found their tabby cat, Beebee, roaming around her dorm room with one of Poe's assignments in her mouth. Rey returned the cat to the address found on her collar, and the three of them had been best friends ever since.

An enthusiastic holler that she recognizes as Finn's, tells her that Poe's probably finished another round of shots. Ever since finals were over, Poe's thrown parties every night for the past two weeks. Rey goes because she can't resist the combined power of Finn and Poe's puppy eyes.

(It's _not_ because she wants to see him.)

The glass door to the porch slides open, releasing the sounds of drunken partygoers into the wild, and a tall figure clad in all black steps out. Rey turns her head to glare at the person intruding on her moment of peace. It's Ben Solo; the guy that Rey's had a very small crush on ever since he started tutoring her in math six weeks ago. (Poe says he can tell Rey doesn't just have a small crush on him.) (Finn says he heard from Phasma who heard from Hux that he likes her back.) (Rey ignores both of them.)

Initially, she didn't like him at all. Ben was arrogant and rude just because he was Headmaster Organa's son. But as she spent more time being tutored by him, Rey thought Ben wasn't so bad. Which led to her maybe developing a tiny crush on him.

"Oh, hey." His dark eyes scan the backyard before noticing her. "What are you doing out here?"

(The real answer is that she's been hoping to see him at the party.)

"Poe invited me? I _am_ his best friend." She says. "What are you doing here?"

He looks vaguely uncomfortable at the question, like he doesn't want to talk about it. He runs a hand through his hair, and she suddenly can't stop thinking about tangling her fingers in his thick wavy hair and-

"I, uh, Poe invited me." He says. She leans forward, arms resting on her thighs.

"I didn't know you guys talked."

"Not usually." He slides the door shut and sits down next to her, one arm casually stretched across the back of the bench. If she leans back, it's almost like his arm is around her. He's close enough for her to feel the heat radiating off of his body. Her thigh is almost touching his, and she silently curses her choice to wear shorts. "But he just came up to me yesterday and said I should come."

Rey just nods, unsure of what to say. The silence between them is awkward, only broken by the muted sounds of partying inside the house. She tries not to shift at the uncomfortable feeling that sits in her stomach.

She takes a sip of her beer. "Truth or dare?"

He looks at her with a single eyebrow raised in amusement. "Truth."

Her fingers tap nervously at the glass bottle as she tries to think of a question. "Who do you like?" She asks it jokingly, but deep down, she really is curious.

"What are we, in high school?" He rolls his eyes. She simply shrugs.

He sighs. "Okay. I like...a girl."

"Wow, fascinating. Tell me more." She deadpans.

"You asked." He nudges her shoulder playfully. Her skin tingles from the contact. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." She's not ready for a dare yet.

A smirk appears on his face. "What's the most adventurous place you've ever had sex at?"

Her face flushes a deep red as she realizes what he's asked. She doesn't dare to look at him, instead focusing on the calm blue waters as her heart pounds in her chest.

"Someone went from zero to one hundred real quick." She mumbles.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game." He teases, to which she just scoffs at.

"Okay, um, once I was shopping at Victoria's Secret with my ex, and we went into the dressing room and we...yeah." Rey trails off, turning to look at him, and finds that Ben is blushing. His eyes have darkened to the point where she can't tell what colour they are.

 _Serves him right,_ she thinks.

"Your turn." She feels less embarrassed about her story due to his reaction. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." His voice comes out rougher than usual.

Rey hides a smile at that. This is her chance.

She pretends to look around, acting like anything in the backyard will give her an idea. But she already has one in mind.

"I dare you to skinny dip in the pool." Her eyes meet his. A flash of something Rey can't place appears on his face, but it's quickly replaced with a smirk.

"Okay." He stands up." But only if you do it."

"It's your dare." She crosses her arms.

"If I'm going to be naked, it's only fair that you join me." He tugs his black t-shirt off over his head. Her eyes track the way his biceps bulge as his arms stretch over his head, and her thoughts wander to what it would feel like to have his strong arms wrapped around her and-

She only realizes she's been staring when he waves a hand in front of her face, and heat rises to her cheeks.

"Okay, fine. But then we can just strip down to our underwear if I'm doing it too." She says.

"Guess you won't get to see me naked yet." He winks. Trying not to dwell on the _yet_ , she stands, setting her beer down, and walks to the edge of the pool. Her shorts drop to her feet, which she steps out of, and her tank top joins them on the floor. The three-bun hairstyle at the back of her head comes undone, and her hair spills around her shoulder. She turns to look at Ben, who's already down to his boxers and is carefully watching her.

Rey is thankful she wore a set of matching underwear today.

He walks to stand next to her. "Ladies first."

She rolls her eyes, and simply pushes him into the pool. He resurfaces almost immediately and splashes her with water.

"Rude."

She ignores him and gracefully slides into the water, relishing in the coolness the water brings. For several moments, they swim around in a comfortable silence.

"Wanna have an underwater breath holding contest?" She swims by Ben, who floats on his back with his eyes closed.

One eye opens to look at her. "Sure."

Rey takes a deep breath, and Ben does the same, before they both dive underneath the surface.

For the first five seconds, she focuses on her heart rate, and is careful not to release too much air from her lungs. After she's got that down, she can turn her attention to a certain someone.

She adjusts to the feeling of pool water stinging her eyes as she looks at Ben. He has an intense look on his face as he focuses on his breathing, or rather, not breathing. She likes the way his hair looks, as it floats around his head. It makes his ears look bigger than usual, but she's never felt more attracted to him like that.

Rey's unfailing internal clock, and the way her lungs are starting to burn, tells her that at least half a minute has passed. But she likes winning too much to give up now.

Her eyes meet his, and he opens his mouth, ready to return to the surface.

(This is her chance.)

Rey pushes forward, her hand reaching for the back of his neck, and presses her lips to his. Ben stiffens in surprise before he returns the kiss, wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing them both to the surface. Begrudgingly, she pulls away first to breath, coughing out the water in her mouth. She can hear him doing the same.

"So, I won that." She's out of breath, and wiping at her face.

"You cheated with the kiss!" He protests.

"You dragged us up for air, so technically, I won." She grins.

"Yeah? And what does the winner want for her prize?" His hands move to rest on her hips. She leans in to kiss him again, but a shout from the house interrupts her.

"Yo, Poe! I knew it! You owe me five bucks!" Finn grins down at them.

Rey just rolls her eyes and presses her lips to Ben's, pulling the two of them underwater to finish what she started.


End file.
